Sharing with what I read from a Japanese source.
1 - Do you know that Japanese children clean their schools every day for a quarter of an hour with teachers, which... led to the emergence of a Japanese generation who is modest and keen on cleanliness.
2 - Do you know that any Japanese citizen who has a dog must carry bag and special bags to pick up dog droppings. Hygiene and their eagerness to address cleanliness is part of Japanese ethics.
3 - Do you know that in Japan students from the first to sixth primary year must learn ethics in dealing with people
4 - D you know that the Japanese even though one of the richest people in the world but they do not have servants. The parents are responsible for the house and children -
5 - Do you know that there is no examination from the first to the third primary level; because the goal of education is to instill concepts and character building, not just examination and indoctrination. -
6 - Do you know that if you go to a buffet restaurant in Japan you will notice people only eat as much as they need without any waste. No wasteful food.
7 - Do you know that the rate of delayed trains in Japan is about 7 seconds per year!! They appreciate the value of time, very punctual to minutes and seconds.
8 -. Do you know that children in schools brush their teeth (sterile) and clean their teeth after a meal at school; They maintain their health from an early age
9 - Do you know that students take half an hour to finish their meals to ensure right digestion When asked about this concern, they said: "These students are the future of Japan."
10 - Do you know that everybody in Japan will be taught & trained about practicing "kaizen" or what we called continous improvement in every stage of their educational & working life
All these above clearly show what can a good education system & guidance from parents do to empower & mould the children into spiritual-centered beings. Reflecting this with the current education system in the country, everybody know the root cause of the declining state of our education level. Its just the matter of whether the policymakers have the political will to make the changes for the betterment of the country. Nevertheless, Rome is not built in a day & it's all take one person to make a change. Look into life of Jesus Christ, Siddhartha Gautama, Confucius or Prophet Mohd. Make the change u want by changing ourselves first....
Sunday, 26 May 2013
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Election Watch: Analysis...All Is Not Lost Yet
5th May 2013, it has to be one of the saddest day in my life & I'm sure the same goes to many other Malaysians too. The incumbent BN got the mandate to form a new government with 133 parliamentary seats against PR's 89 seats. Almost immediately after Najib Tun Razak, BN chairman announced the win on TV, a significantly large numbers of the Malaysian Facebook users changed their profile pictures to all black screen. I will not dwell much on the controversial incidents happened on the election days since they have been widely discussed / shown in Youtube, Facebook & other social media sites. Check it out yourself.
Any right thinking Malaysian has the right to be angry with all the going-ons on the election day. Took me 2 days to fully recover from this but some people still not got over it & even writing petition to demand intervention from Obama administration & United Nation to investigate the electoral process. Even if we can do it, the best they can do is to advise the newly elected PM to look into the alleged irregularities of the electoral system. General election is deemed an internal matter & other parties have no rights to interfere.
After the 5th May, people pondering what's went wrong for Pakatan Rakyat coalition (PR) & where was God during this time when we need Him? Not trying to be Dalai Lama to preach about spirituality here. Forget about the frauds & cheatings but there's a saying "Everything in heaven & earth is the voice of God". Everything happens for a reason, really. Getting people to accept the change of government is like going into marriage with a potential partner. We can always say we're ready & we can never know actually until we get into it. Even if we are, the other partner-to-be may not be ready & not willing to take the jump. The result this time could be a message saying PR is not ready yet to govern, or perhaps the people is not ready yet to accept a new untested government. Which answer is best to explain the loss? Check this below.
Mourn for now but we need quickly go back to the drawing board, reflect, find out the root causes of the fall & rectify it from there. Looking at the GE13 results, statistically it was the best achievement by Opposition against the ruling government in the history of the Malaysian election. Check the parliamentary seats won by both sides since 2004. It's safe for me to say that in terms of political maturity of the people, this country is moving towards the right direction for a 2-party democracy system.
Malaysians are one of the highest users of social medias in Asia. We are now made aware of all the political-related events around the country within minutes of the happenings. It was just too heartbreaking with the loss this time, when electoral frauds & gerrymandering happening in front of our eyes & yet nothing can be done to stop it. However, several wins by PR leaders proved that the impossible can be made possible when the people votes strongly for the candidate. Even with additional ballot boxes coming from no-man land, phantom voters etc, it's insufficient to take away the rakyat's choice of candidate, Nurul Izzah Anwar for Lembah Pantai parliament. With large majority, buses filled with foreigners voting could not stop underdog Michael Jeyakumar (PSM) to win Sungai Siput parliament. This reinforced the pleas why all Malaysians are urged to come in droves to vote. Although PR has lost credible leaders such as Mohamad Sabu (PAS), Dr Dzulkefli Ahmad (PAS), Saifuddin Nasution (PKR) & many others, be thankful that we managed to vote in highly qualified newbies such as Rafizi Ramli (PKR), Wong Chen (PKR), Kasthuri Patto (DAP) as replacements. Parliament sitting is bound to be interesting really with more check & balance.
For PR, despite of many assurances, it's a fact that many voters (even in urban areas) still skeptical of having 3 parties of different ideologies in a coalition governing the country. Coupled with mainstream media branding of DAP being anti-Malay, PAS wanting an Islamic state, PKR with full of scandals etc; it requires patience & perseverance to make the majority understand. Look at this, if a certified racial bigot like Zulkifli Nordin can afford 38,070 votes (which is 43.7% of total who voted) in Shah Alam, the capital of Malaysia's most industrialised state Selangor & some jokers like Bung Mokhtar, Tajuddin Abd Rahman can still be elected into Parliament, we ought to look into the voters' thoughts about having a new government. Leaders from all 3 parties should avoid making contradicting statements, especially sensitive issues of religion, race etc. Politic is about perception. With the mainstream medias, u can be assured of "twisted" information given to the public with a single blurt of word which can sparks hatred & anger. This GE13 results proved mainstream medias are still the main communication medium to the people, even with rise of Internet medias. All PR parties are to have common understanding of having single seat allocation to stand against a single BN opponent for a seat. Semenyih, Sungai Acheh & Kota Damansara are example of state seats lost unnecessarily to BN, because parties unable to have conclusion of allocation causing split votes.
On the voters side, reports confirmed that PR has the popular votes of 5.3 million voters, more than the victor, BN coalition. Sad truth is, with current electoral system, u cant win the Parliament even if ur popular. This is not an American Idol contest. Area delineation in the constituency system makes it more difficult to get the votes possible to gain control of Parliament. Teresa Kok (DAP) thrashed her MCA opponent with majority 51,552 votes but that still only contributed 1 parliamentary seat from Seputeh, KL. This amount itself, however is sufficient to win at least 3 parliamentary seats from Sabah. We cant deny that PR lost out in rural constituencies, which actually hold more power votes than the urban areas. This gives PR no choice but to penetrate the rural areas.
It is very important to take note that the aspirations of rural Malaysians are very different from those in urban areas. Rural Malaysians are more concerned about their next meal while urbanites are concerned more about the bigger picture & the next generation. Read up on Abraham Maslow's Hierachy of Needs theory to understand this. Penetrating the rural areas does not mean just having regular talks (ceramah) & elaborate about the manifesto. A lot of PR party branches are not strong enough in the constituency, causing the rural voters to choose the devil that they know, rather than the angel that they don't know, borrowing a phrase from a certain doctor originated from Kerala. Have service centres in reaching the locals & identify the potential candidates (who are locals) to expose him/her in serving the people. People in rural areas are more comfortable with people they are familiar with & this will break the ice before informing them about issues. Parachuting outsiders into an area for the sake of getting better chances to win, will not helps although DAP played their cards right by sending their big guns to semi-rural areas in Johor.
Nation building is a tough, long winding process. Americans take centuries to learn to accept the blacks as equals after Martin Luther King's legendary speech. Comparing to Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela & Mahatma Gandhi who spent their entire life waiting to see a country built with their dreams, what can we say about waiting for another 5 years to realize our dreams for our country? The battle may be lost but this must not shake our faith & beliefs. The world is watching. They can deny but they can't hide. With the power of the people wanting a change, I sincerely believe with God's grace, change is imminent even with the existence of the dirty tricks & all the election machineries, police, medias controlled by the current ruling government. It's just a question of when it's going to happen. We must reflect & musn't stop now. For the sake of our children & future generations, the show must go on.
Any right thinking Malaysian has the right to be angry with all the going-ons on the election day. Took me 2 days to fully recover from this but some people still not got over it & even writing petition to demand intervention from Obama administration & United Nation to investigate the electoral process. Even if we can do it, the best they can do is to advise the newly elected PM to look into the alleged irregularities of the electoral system. General election is deemed an internal matter & other parties have no rights to interfere.
After the 5th May, people pondering what's went wrong for Pakatan Rakyat coalition (PR) & where was God during this time when we need Him? Not trying to be Dalai Lama to preach about spirituality here. Forget about the frauds & cheatings but there's a saying "Everything in heaven & earth is the voice of God". Everything happens for a reason, really. Getting people to accept the change of government is like going into marriage with a potential partner. We can always say we're ready & we can never know actually until we get into it. Even if we are, the other partner-to-be may not be ready & not willing to take the jump. The result this time could be a message saying PR is not ready yet to govern, or perhaps the people is not ready yet to accept a new untested government. Which answer is best to explain the loss? Check this below.
Mourn for now but we need quickly go back to the drawing board, reflect, find out the root causes of the fall & rectify it from there. Looking at the GE13 results, statistically it was the best achievement by Opposition against the ruling government in the history of the Malaysian election. Check the parliamentary seats won by both sides since 2004. It's safe for me to say that in terms of political maturity of the people, this country is moving towards the right direction for a 2-party democracy system.
Malaysians are one of the highest users of social medias in Asia. We are now made aware of all the political-related events around the country within minutes of the happenings. It was just too heartbreaking with the loss this time, when electoral frauds & gerrymandering happening in front of our eyes & yet nothing can be done to stop it. However, several wins by PR leaders proved that the impossible can be made possible when the people votes strongly for the candidate. Even with additional ballot boxes coming from no-man land, phantom voters etc, it's insufficient to take away the rakyat's choice of candidate, Nurul Izzah Anwar for Lembah Pantai parliament. With large majority, buses filled with foreigners voting could not stop underdog Michael Jeyakumar (PSM) to win Sungai Siput parliament. This reinforced the pleas why all Malaysians are urged to come in droves to vote. Although PR has lost credible leaders such as Mohamad Sabu (PAS), Dr Dzulkefli Ahmad (PAS), Saifuddin Nasution (PKR) & many others, be thankful that we managed to vote in highly qualified newbies such as Rafizi Ramli (PKR), Wong Chen (PKR), Kasthuri Patto (DAP) as replacements. Parliament sitting is bound to be interesting really with more check & balance.
For PR, despite of many assurances, it's a fact that many voters (even in urban areas) still skeptical of having 3 parties of different ideologies in a coalition governing the country. Coupled with mainstream media branding of DAP being anti-Malay, PAS wanting an Islamic state, PKR with full of scandals etc; it requires patience & perseverance to make the majority understand. Look at this, if a certified racial bigot like Zulkifli Nordin can afford 38,070 votes (which is 43.7% of total who voted) in Shah Alam, the capital of Malaysia's most industrialised state Selangor & some jokers like Bung Mokhtar, Tajuddin Abd Rahman can still be elected into Parliament, we ought to look into the voters' thoughts about having a new government. Leaders from all 3 parties should avoid making contradicting statements, especially sensitive issues of religion, race etc. Politic is about perception. With the mainstream medias, u can be assured of "twisted" information given to the public with a single blurt of word which can sparks hatred & anger. This GE13 results proved mainstream medias are still the main communication medium to the people, even with rise of Internet medias. All PR parties are to have common understanding of having single seat allocation to stand against a single BN opponent for a seat. Semenyih, Sungai Acheh & Kota Damansara are example of state seats lost unnecessarily to BN, because parties unable to have conclusion of allocation causing split votes.
On the voters side, reports confirmed that PR has the popular votes of 5.3 million voters, more than the victor, BN coalition. Sad truth is, with current electoral system, u cant win the Parliament even if ur popular. This is not an American Idol contest. Area delineation in the constituency system makes it more difficult to get the votes possible to gain control of Parliament. Teresa Kok (DAP) thrashed her MCA opponent with majority 51,552 votes but that still only contributed 1 parliamentary seat from Seputeh, KL. This amount itself, however is sufficient to win at least 3 parliamentary seats from Sabah. We cant deny that PR lost out in rural constituencies, which actually hold more power votes than the urban areas. This gives PR no choice but to penetrate the rural areas.
It is very important to take note that the aspirations of rural Malaysians are very different from those in urban areas. Rural Malaysians are more concerned about their next meal while urbanites are concerned more about the bigger picture & the next generation. Read up on Abraham Maslow's Hierachy of Needs theory to understand this. Penetrating the rural areas does not mean just having regular talks (ceramah) & elaborate about the manifesto. A lot of PR party branches are not strong enough in the constituency, causing the rural voters to choose the devil that they know, rather than the angel that they don't know, borrowing a phrase from a certain doctor originated from Kerala. Have service centres in reaching the locals & identify the potential candidates (who are locals) to expose him/her in serving the people. People in rural areas are more comfortable with people they are familiar with & this will break the ice before informing them about issues. Parachuting outsiders into an area for the sake of getting better chances to win, will not helps although DAP played their cards right by sending their big guns to semi-rural areas in Johor.
 |
| Do not underestimate the power of the people. Has we forgotten what's Makkal Sakthi means? |
Nation building is a tough, long winding process. Americans take centuries to learn to accept the blacks as equals after Martin Luther King's legendary speech. Comparing to Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela & Mahatma Gandhi who spent their entire life waiting to see a country built with their dreams, what can we say about waiting for another 5 years to realize our dreams for our country? The battle may be lost but this must not shake our faith & beliefs. The world is watching. They can deny but they can't hide. With the power of the people wanting a change, I sincerely believe with God's grace, change is imminent even with the existence of the dirty tricks & all the election machineries, police, medias controlled by the current ruling government. It's just a question of when it's going to happen. We must reflect & musn't stop now. For the sake of our children & future generations, the show must go on.
"Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength. No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful the experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster"
- Dalai Lama -
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Election Watch: The Judgement Day
Today is the day. I've done my part & I believed many of us have done so too. Now that human role has been performed, let us leave everything else to the Highest Order above.
I will be staying up late tonight, probably awake till next day to catch up the latest results and hopefully, witness a new beginning. Till then...
I will be staying up late tonight, probably awake till next day to catch up the latest results and hopefully, witness a new beginning. Till then...
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